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The Council consists of the Prime Minister, the Minister of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Chairman of the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Governor of the AIFC.
The heads of powerful global financial institutions also joined the AIFC Management Council: J. Frenkel (Chairman of JP Morgan Chase Intl.), S. Chakrabarti (President of the EBRD), G. Gref (Chairman of Sberbank of Russia), A. Volozh (CEO of Yandex N.V.), B. Hajjar (President of the Islamic Development Bank Group) and J. Monaco (Global Head of the Public Sector Group, Citigroup).
The AIFC’s bodies and organizations are the AIFC Court, the AIFC International Arbitration Centre, the AIFC Financial Services Regulatory Committee (AFSA), AIX (the AIFC Exchange), the AIFC Expat Centre, and the AIFC Bureau for Continuing Professional Development.
The AIFC develops 6 main areas, such as the capital market, asset management, private wealth management, Islamic finance, financial technology, and green finance.
At present, the AIFC Financial Services Regulatory Committee has registered 502 companies from 42 countries as the AIFC participants.
The favorable conditions provided by the AIFC platform in many fields, including those concerning the structuring of transactions and using the financial platform, have already allowed the AIFC participants to invest $444 million via the AIFC platform in sectors such as financial technology development, construction, agriculture and manufacturing. At the same time, intentions have been announced to invest $3.5 billion in various sectors of the economy of Kazakhstan.
Capital market
The official AIX list comprises 62 issues of securities from 40 different issuers, including 2 ETFs and 5 ETNs. The trading members of the AIFC Exchange are 17 Kazakh and 8 international brokers, including the world’s largest brokers such as CITIC, CICC, Shenwan Hongyuan (PRC), Wood&Co (Czech Republic), SOVA Capital, etc. More than 92 thousand investor accounts have been opened in the Central Depository of the AIFC Exchange.
The volume of attracted capital of the AIFC Exchange since the beginning of its official operation is about $4.6 billion, including debt capital of $4.3 billion and share capital of about $291 million, which is 4 times higher than the amount of equity raised in Kazakhstan over the past three years. At the same time, on the AIFC Exchange, there have been listed public bonds in the amount of $2.7 billion.
Today, the total market capitalization of companies with equity instruments listed on the AIFC Exchange (Kazatomprom, Polymetal, Halyk Bank of Kazakhstan, Ferro-Alloy Resources Limited, Kcell) exceeds $16.2 billion.
In 2018-2019, the AIFC Exchange became the platform for the successful IPO (worth $64.3 million) and SPO (worth $65.3 million) of the national company Kazatomprom (dual listing on the LSE). More than half of the secondary placement (SPO) applications were made via the AIFC Exchange. In June 2020, another SPO of Kazatomprom took place on the LSE and AIX for a total of $211.7 million, of which $74.7 million was traded on the AIFC Exchange. This placement was the largest transaction in the CIS equity markets since the beginning of 2020.
The bonds of the Astana Branch of China Construction Bank (CCB Astana Branch), which are the first yuan-denominated bonds in Kazakhstan (Falcon bonds), have been included in the official AIX list. The listing was simultaneously carried out on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The issue is denominated in Chinese yuan for a total of 1 billion yuan (about 63 billion tenge) and matures in March 2022. The bonds are available only to professional investors. The funds raised will be used to finance local infrastructure projects and projects of the Belt and Road Initiative in Kazakhstan.
Asset and private wealth management markets
All the basic conditions for asset and private wealth management have been arranged: the entire regulatory framework has been prepared and the necessary management tools have been created.
At present, 2 private foundations and 13 special purpose companies have been established on the basis of the AIFC. The AIFC regulator has issued 4 licenses for managing collective investment mechanisms, 4 licenses for investment management, 8 licenses for investment consulting and 1 license for fund management activities.
Following the negotiations with the National Bank within the framework of the AIFC Development Strategy, an agreement was reached to include the criterion “Localization of management companies in the AIFC” as one of the important criteria in the Rules for Selecting Management Companies of the National Fund of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as the Rules for Selecting External Managers of Pension Assets of the Unified Accumulative Pension Fund (ENPF).
Islamic finance market
A legal framework on Islamic finance has been prepared. In February 2020, the Islamic bank Al Rayan Bank (Qatar) was registered in the AIFC. It intends to become the first full-fledged digital bank in the AIFC, focusing on the development of Islamic banking and investment products with the use of advanced fintech products.
In addition, the Islamic securities of Qatar International Islamic Bank, which were issued on the London Stock Exchange in the amount of $500 million, were cross-listed on the AIFC Exchange.
It should be noted that this is the first placement of an Islamic debt instrument (Sukuk) that meets the requirements of Islamic finance on the AIFC Exchange.
Financial technology
The AIFC is actively working to create favorable conditions for the introduction and development of a new class of financial technologies in order to optimize processes and reduce costs.
In February 2020, the AIFC Fintech Hub launched a new initiative to inform startups about the world’s open accelerators. The purpose of this initiative is to bring startups to the global market, to provide investment opportunities, as well as to expand networking.
At the moment, the number of startups in the portfolio of the AIFC Fintech Hub has grown to 110 startups. 15 startups have the opportunity to use the coworking space.
One of the key events of 2019 was the conclusion of a partnership agreement with the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution of the World Economic Forum (WEF C4IR), which brings together international organizations, governments, businesses, dynamically developing startups, representatives of civil society, and scientists from around the world to enable them to work together on the development of new technological fields.
Green finance
The AIFC Green Finance Centre has been established as a specialized organization for the development of the green finance market in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. The AIFC platform provides the opportunity to issue green bonds. For this purpose, the AIFC Exchange has adopted the Rules for the Issuance and Circulation of Green Bonds, developed on the basis of the Principles of Green Bonds of the International Capital Market Association and the Standards of the international organization “Climate Bonds Initiative”.
Acting as a development institute at the same time, the Centre provides consulting support to potential issuers of green bonds, as well as assists stakeholders in creating a conceptual and strategic framework for the development of green finance.
The AIFC Green Finance Centre, Ltd. organized the first issue of “green” bonds of “FRP “Damu” JSC in Kazakhstan and Central Asia in the amount of 200 million tenge. The issue was carried out in the trading system of the stock exchange of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) with a coupon rate of 11.75% and maturity of 3 years. The AIFC Green Finance Centre, Ltd. has provided an independent opinion (Second Party Opinion), according to which the issuer will use the funds raised and disclose information about their intended use in line with the international principles of “green” bonds.
The Centre is working on the development of green finance not only on the AIFC platform, but also in the jurisdiction of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Centre participated in the development of a new edition of the Environmental Code, which includes definitions of green projects, green taxonomy and green financing instruments, as well as the Strategy for low-carbon development of Nur-Sultan.
The creation of the AIFC is the answer to many questions facing not only the Kazakh, but also the regional economy at the moment. The AIFC is ready to act as a conduit for investments not only in Kazakhstan, but also in other countries of the region.
Website of the AIFC
Materials by the AIFC
Astana International Financial Centre
The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) plays a key role as a regional center of business and finance, connecting the economies of Central Asia, the Caucasus, the EAEU, Western China, Mongolia, the Middle East and Europe.
The Astana International Financial Center (AIFC) was established on the initiative of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev.
The AIFC’s main objective is to develop a liquid and balanced capital market with a wide range of financial instruments. The AIFC is the only platform of its kind in the region, providing extensive access to capital and a wide range of financial services and investment instruments.
The AIFC operates on the basis of English common law, the legal status of the financial center is fixed by the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The official language of the AIFC is English.
Unprecedented conditions have been created in the AIFC to attract international participants, which have no analogues in the post-Soviet space. The participants are provided with benefits up to 50 years as well as simplified currency, visa and labor regimes.
The supreme governing body of the AIFC is the AIFC Management Council – a permanent collegial body chaired by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Council determines the strategic directions of the AIFC’s development and assists in creating favorable conditions for the formation of a leading international financial services center. The AIFC’s main objective is to develop a liquid and balanced capital market with a wide range of financial instruments. The AIFC is the only platform of its kind in the region, providing extensive access to capital and a wide range of financial services and investment instruments.
The AIFC operates on the basis of English common law, the legal status of the financial center is fixed by the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The official language of the AIFC is English.
Unprecedented conditions have been created in the AIFC to attract international participants, which have no analogues in the post-Soviet space. The participants are provided with benefits up to 50 years as well as simplified currency, visa and labor regimes.
The Council consists of the Prime Minister, the Minister of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Chairman of the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Governor of the AIFC.
The heads of powerful global financial institutions also joined the AIFC Management Council: J. Frenkel (Chairman of JP Morgan Chase Intl.), S. Chakrabarti (President of the EBRD), G. Gref (Chairman of Sberbank of Russia), A. Volozh (CEO of Yandex N.V.), B. Hajjar (President of the Islamic Development Bank Group) and J. Monaco (Global Head of the Public Sector Group, Citigroup).
The AIFC’s bodies and organizations are the AIFC Court, the AIFC International Arbitration Centre, the AIFC Financial Services Regulatory Committee (AFSA), AIX (the AIFC Exchange), the AIFC Expat Centre, and the AIFC Bureau for Continuing Professional Development.
The AIFC develops 6 main areas, such as the capital market, asset management, private wealth management, Islamic finance, financial technology, and green finance.
At present, the AIFC Financial Services Regulatory Committee has registered 502 companies from 42 countries as the AIFC participants.
The favorable conditions provided by the AIFC platform in many fields, including those concerning the structuring of transactions and using the financial platform, have already allowed the AIFC participants to invest $444 million via the AIFC platform in sectors such as financial technology development, construction, agriculture and manufacturing. At the same time, intentions have been announced to invest $3.5 billion in various sectors of the economy of Kazakhstan.
Capital market
The official AIX list comprises 62 issues of securities from 40 different issuers, including 2 ETFs and 5 ETNs. The trading members of the AIFC Exchange are 17 Kazakh and 8 international brokers, including the world’s largest brokers such as CITIC, CICC, Shenwan Hongyuan (PRC), Wood&Co (Czech Republic), SOVA Capital, etc. More than 92 thousand investor accounts have been opened in the Central Depository of the AIFC Exchange.
The volume of attracted capital of the AIFC Exchange since the beginning of its official operation is about $4.6 billion, including debt capital of $4.3 billion and share capital of about $291 million, which is 4 times higher than the amount of equity raised in Kazakhstan over the past three years. At the same time, on the AIFC Exchange, there have been listed public bonds in the amount of $2.7 billion.
Today, the total market capitalization of companies with equity instruments listed on the AIFC Exchange (Kazatomprom, Polymetal, Halyk Bank of Kazakhstan, Ferro-Alloy Resources Limited, Kcell) exceeds $16.2 billion.
In 2018-2019, the AIFC Exchange became the platform for the successful IPO (worth $64.3 million) and SPO (worth $65.3 million) of the national company Kazatomprom (dual listing on the LSE). More than half of the secondary placement (SPO) applications were made via the AIFC Exchange. In June 2020, another SPO of Kazatomprom took place on the LSE and AIX for a total of $211.7 million, of which $74.7 million was traded on the AIFC Exchange. This placement was the largest transaction in the CIS equity markets since the beginning of 2020.
The bonds of the Astana Branch of China Construction Bank (CCB Astana Branch), which are the first yuan-denominated bonds in Kazakhstan (Falcon bonds), have been included in the official AIX list. The listing was simultaneously carried out on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The issue is denominated in Chinese yuan for a total of 1 billion yuan (about 63 billion tenge) and matures in March 2022. The bonds are available only to professional investors. The funds raised will be used to finance local infrastructure projects and projects of the Belt and Road Initiative in Kazakhstan.
Asset and private wealth management markets
All the basic conditions for asset and private wealth management have been arranged: the entire regulatory framework has been prepared and the necessary management tools have been created.
At present, 2 private foundations and 13 special purpose companies have been established on the basis of the AIFC. The AIFC regulator has issued 4 licenses for managing collective investment mechanisms, 4 licenses for investment management, 8 licenses for investment consulting and 1 license for fund management activities.
Following the negotiations with the National Bank within the framework of the AIFC Development Strategy, an agreement was reached to include the criterion “Localization of management companies in the AIFC” as one of the important criteria in the Rules for Selecting Management Companies of the National Fund of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as the Rules for Selecting External Managers of Pension Assets of the Unified Accumulative Pension Fund (ENPF).
Islamic finance market
A legal framework on Islamic finance has been prepared. In February 2020, the Islamic bank Al Rayan Bank (Qatar) was registered in the AIFC. It intends to become the first full-fledged digital bank in the AIFC, focusing on the development of Islamic banking and investment products with the use of advanced fintech products.
In addition, the Islamic securities of Qatar International Islamic Bank, which were issued on the London Stock Exchange in the amount of $500 million, were cross-listed on the AIFC Exchange.
It should be noted that this is the first placement of an Islamic debt instrument (Sukuk) that meets the requirements of Islamic finance on the AIFC Exchange.
Financial technology
The AIFC is actively working to create favorable conditions for the introduction and development of a new class of financial technologies in order to optimize processes and reduce costs.
In February 2020, the AIFC Fintech Hub launched a new initiative to inform startups about the world’s open accelerators. The purpose of this initiative is to bring startups to the global market, to provide investment opportunities, as well as to expand networking.
At the moment, the number of startups in the portfolio of the AIFC Fintech Hub has grown to 110 startups. 15 startups have the opportunity to use the coworking space.
One of the key events of 2019 was the conclusion of a partnership agreement with the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution of the World Economic Forum (WEF C4IR), which brings together international organizations, governments, businesses, dynamically developing startups, representatives of civil society, and scientists from around the world to enable them to work together on the development of new technological fields.
Green finance
The AIFC Green Finance Centre has been established as a specialized organization for the development of the green finance market in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. The AIFC platform provides the opportunity to issue green bonds. For this purpose, the AIFC Exchange has adopted the Rules for the Issuance and Circulation of Green Bonds, developed on the basis of the Principles of Green Bonds of the International Capital Market Association and the Standards of the international organization “Climate Bonds Initiative”.
Acting as a development institute at the same time, the Centre provides consulting support to potential issuers of green bonds, as well as assists stakeholders in creating a conceptual and strategic framework for the development of green finance.
The AIFC Green Finance Centre, Ltd. organized the first issue of “green” bonds of “FRP “Damu” JSC in Kazakhstan and Central Asia in the amount of 200 million tenge. The issue was carried out in the trading system of the stock exchange of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) with a coupon rate of 11.75% and maturity of 3 years. The AIFC Green Finance Centre, Ltd. has provided an independent opinion (Second Party Opinion), according to which the issuer will use the funds raised and disclose information about their intended use in line with the international principles of “green” bonds.
The Centre is working on the development of green finance not only on the AIFC platform, but also in the jurisdiction of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Centre participated in the development of a new edition of the Environmental Code, which includes definitions of green projects, green taxonomy and green financing instruments, as well as the Strategy for low-carbon development of Nur-Sultan.
The creation of the AIFC is the answer to many questions facing not only the Kazakh, but also the regional economy at the moment. The AIFC is ready to act as a conduit for investments not only in Kazakhstan, but also in other countries of the region.
Website of the AIFC
Materials by the AIFC
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